Critical Care Paramedic

A Critical Care Paramedic provides advanced life support and emergency medical interventions to acutely unwell or injured patients in pre-hospital, retrieval, and transport settings across Australia. Working within state-based ambulance services or aeromedical organisations, they assess complex medical presentations, administer advanced pharmacological interventions, and manage airway compromise and shock states using specialised equipment and protocols. They operate within extended scope-of-practice guidelines set by state health authorities and their ambulance services.

Perform rapid structured patient assessment using systemic ABCDE (airway, breathing, circulation, disability, exposure) methodology in acute pre-hospital and retrieval environments. Interpret 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) and respond to acute coronary syndromes, arrhythmias, and other cardiac presentations using STEMI protocols and Advanced Life Support (ALS) algorithms. Administer intravenous fluids, vasoactive agents (adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine), sedatives, analgesics, and emergency medications according to state ambulance service clinical practice guidelines. Manage compromised airways using manual manoeuvres, supraglottic airways, endotracheal intubation, and surgical airway techniques (cricothyrotomy) in pre-hospital settings. Perform emergency chest procedures including needle decompression for tension pneumothorax, resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA), and chest drain insertion in retrieval operations. Operate and troubleshoot critical care equipment including portable ventilators, infusion pumps, portable ultrasound, capnography monitors, and transport ventilators. Communicate clinical handover using standardised formats (ISBAR) to receiving Emergency Departments, Intensive Care Units, or specialist centres during patient handoff. Record comprehensive clinical documentation including detailed patient observations, interventions performed, medication doses and times, and decision-making rationale on patient report forms and electronic ambulance records.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

You'll face a long, expensive pathway: a paramedic degree, then years working as a standard paramedic before qualifying for critical care training. Once there, you're on-call for unpredictable emergencies, shift work including nights and weekends, and carrying the weight of life-or-death decisions with limited backup in remote or aeromedical settings. The emotional toll is real, and pay doesn't always match the responsibility.

These roles exist mainly in state ambulance services and aeromedical retrieval organisations. Most jobs cluster in metro areas with critical care retrieval units and rural aeromedical bases. Remote work is not an option.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 4111, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Active Listeningcore
• Attention to Detailcore
• Case Note Documentationcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Empathy and Emotional Intelligencecore
• Health Terminology Literacycore
• Incident Reportingcore
• Multitaskingcore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Problem Solvingcore
• Risk Identificationcore
• Time Management and Prioritisationcore
• Trauma-Informed Communicationcore
• Verbal Communicationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Adaptability and Flexibility
• Adhere to organisational guidelines
• Continuous Learning and Upskilling
• Cultural Awareness and Sensitivity
• Escalation Management
• Referral Coordination
• Regulatory and Legislative Awareness
• Team Collaboration
• Written Communication

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

Last updated: 30 October 2026